Stop and Frisk Policy Good for NYC?

New numbers from the New York Police Department suggest that the controversial “Stop and Frisk” policy—that allows officers to pat the "suspicious" down without warrant—is having a positive affect on the city. Often labeled as racial profiling, the force has conducted more than 200,000 searches in the first three months of this year. The department claims that the percentage of illegal firearms confiscated from suspicious individuals went up by 31 percent since last year; in addition, the murder rate dropping by 20 percent .

To no one’s surprise, the "suspicious" individuals searched are predominantly Black (54 percent) and Hispanic (33 percent) men. With freedom and dignity swept aside for alleged sketchy behavior, 89 percent (181,457 individuals) of the people frisked were totally innocent, and many were high school and middle school students. While Mayor MichaelBloomberg andCommissioner Ray Kelly stand behind the fact that this measure has saved lives, what’s remains a concern for residents is not necessarily the policy but the lack of concern for how the communities most impacted by the policy are affected by it.

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